‘Battleships, aircraft carriers, minesweepers and submarines from 25 nations are converging on the strategically important Strait of Hormuz in an unprecedented show of force as Israel and Iran move towards the brink of war.

Western leaders are convinced that Iran will retaliate to any attack by attempting to mine or blockade the shipping lane through which passes around 18 million barrels of oil every day, approximately 35 per cent of the world’s petroleum traded by sea.

A blockade would have a catastrophic effect on the fragile economies of Britain, Europe the United States and Japan, all of which rely heavily on oil and gas supplies from the Gulf.’

‘This is a clear-cut intention to repeat the Libyan scenario,” Dolgov says, referring to Clinton’s recent statement on a possible introduction of a no-fly zone over Syria, something that he says is little more than a call for an armed interference in Syria’s internal affairs. The no-fly zone stipulates destroying missile defense systems and launching air strikes, and it, in fact, means an armed invasion of Syria which can only be fulfilled without being endorsed by the UN. All the more so that Russia and China several times blocked the UN Security Council resolutions which paved the way for resolving the Syrian crisis through the Libyan scenario.”

‘A Chinese destroyer sailed through Egypt’s Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea, Egyptian daily Al-Shuruk reported on Sunday. The destroyer could be on its way to the Syrian coast, the Egyptian newspaper reported, adding that the warship is planning to hold naval maneuvers in the area.’

‘According to various internet sources, a team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins University in conjunction with the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Arlington, Virginia, is helping develop what they are calling a micro aerial vehicle (MAV) that will undertake various espionage tasks.

The robotic insect can effortlessly infiltrate urban areas, where dense concentrations of buildings and people, along with unpredictable winds and other obstacles make it impractical. It can be controlled from a great distance and is equipped with a camera and a built-in microphone.’

‘According to a Sunday report by the Turkish Anadolu Agency, Ankara also deployed troop carriers along the border with Syria. A train convoy transporting several missile batteries arrived in the southeastern province of Mardin on Sunday. The report comes at a time when relations between Ankara and Damascus have deteriorated.’